Mal Bien Arroqueño from Chucho and Poncho Sánchez was produced in San Baltazar Chichicapam, Oaxaca using 100% Maguey Arroqueño (agave Americana).
About this destilado de agave
Mal Bien Arroqueño from Chucho and Poncho Sánchez was released as part of Agave Mixtape volume 7. It was produced in San Baltazar Chichicapam, Oaxaca using 100% Maguey Arroqueño (agave Americana) in May 2021. Chucho’s wife Zuleima is from San Francisco Infiernillo, a small village in the Mixteca Baja region of Oaxaca. The two married after meeting during university and eventually moved to Chichicapam, where Chucho worked with with his family and Zuleima became a school teacher. During their visits to the Mixteca Baja, Chucho became familiar with the area’s magueyes and mezcales. Zuleima’s family in Mixteca Baja isn’t involved in mezcal production, but they helped introduce Chucho to some of their magueyero neighbors. The magueyeros sold Chucho some maguey tobalá and several tons of the 12 year-old maguey arroqueño, ranging in size from 60-120 kilos per piña. Chucho says the agave from San Francisco Infiernillo has a higher concentration of sugars than the plants that grow in Chichicapam so he plans to buy more from his in-laws’ neighbors for future batches of mezcal.
Agave Mixtape
Agave Mixtape brings the best agave spirits together in one place – your place. Agave Mixtape is a subscription based service. Subscribers receive boxes with three 200ml bottles from three different brands – Lalocura, Mal Bien, and Neta (and maybe a few surprises) – filled with batches picked especially for Agave Mixtape, and not available anywhere else in the USA. Each box includes production notes on the batches, along with links to photos, and virtual tastings with the people behind the brands and the mezcaleros. You can subscribe directly from their website.
Mal Bien
Since 2016, the Mal Bien team has been traveling Mexico, driving off the map and into mountains filled with treacherous roads, police officers of questionable moral character, feral dogs, indigenous languages, narcos, ancient relics, machete wielding protestors, insect based meals, mudslides, blockades, corrupt politicians, and many of the world’s kindest, funniest, most brilliant people. In addition to some hard to believe stories, they’ve connected with a wide variety of traditional producers, whose mezcal is now bottled and exported under the Mal Bien name.
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tdes
3 reviewsFrom Agave Mixtape 7:
Nose — Lactic cheesy notes, hints of mesquite smoke, light vinegar, chipotle, brine.
Palate — mesquite bbq mixes with brine, chipotle and green peppers, which may sound bad, but is actually great. a black pepper bite, but still quite smooth. after the initial kick, there’s a nice bit of sweet and savoriness.
Finish — The peppers and spice fade into bbq sweetness. It lingers quite a bit with a good mouthfeel. Nothing bitter about this one.
I really enjoyed this one, but I’m a bit partial to arroqueño. While the nose maybe isn’t the most interesting, the flavors are top notch and the finish lasts for days.
From Agave Mixtape 7:
Nose — Lactic cheesy notes, hints of mesquite smoke, light vinegar, chipotle, brine.
Palate — mesquite bbq mixes with brine, chipotle and green peppers, which may sound bad, but is actually great. a black pepper bite, but still quite smooth. after the initial kick, there’s a nice bit of sweet and savoriness.
Finish — The peppers and spice fade into bbq sweetness. It lingers quite a bit with a good mouthfeel. Nothing bitter about this one.
I really en
Rakhal
430 reviewsWhen I first opened this and tasted it, it was all big flavors of smoked pork. I love bacon but not necessarily in Mezcal. After a couple days it opened up a bit with some tropical notes of Juicy Fruit gum, and dried apricots.
Tyler
668 reviewsDominate musty flavors.. lots of old wood notes. It is a little off-putting honestly. Makes me think of the smell of a dirty antique store or or my grandparents’ garage. After opening up there is still a bit of underlying musty notes. Overall not digging it. Will revisit later and update the review. Mixtape vol. 07 batch.
March 2023 update – still not digging this but less musty flavors. Mal Bien has great batches but I haven’t gotten into Chucho and Poncho.. yet.
Dominate musty flavors.. lots of old wood notes. It is a little off-putting honestly. Makes me think of the smell of a dirty antique store or or my grandparents’ garage. After opening up there is still a bit of underlying musty notes. Overall not digging it. Will revisit later and update the review. Mixtape vol. 07 batch.
March 2023 update – still not digging this but less musty flavors. Mal Bien has great batches but I haven’t gotten into Chucho and Poncho.. yet.
GreenspointTexas
385 reviews3.75/5 Only rounded up because the finish goes for days. Juicy fruit gum with smoked brisket. Fun
COak
238 reviewsPretty average mezcal to me. Nose is pretty muted. I get flavors of asparagus, green apples with some funk and heat on the back end. Least favorite from Mixtape Vol. 7
donpedro
39 reviewsThis one is a rollercoaster ride between sweet and savory. On the nose, this starts out as barnyard, leather, and smoke, but quickly transitions to BBQ sauce and umami on the palate. The is a definite sweetness to it that borders on molasses or maple syrup. Really enjoyable!
Zack Klamn
542 reviewsNose – Light smoke and leather. Cantaloupe. Hint of pork jerky.
Palate – Sweet (Orange Julius) and grassy at first. Finish and aftertaste lose every notion of sweetness and wildly turn to a fascinating balance of campfire smoke, leather, hay, more grass and a lip full of chewing tobacco (and goes on for a solid minute). This feels like it has mucho masculine qualities – if I was old enough to have this in the 80’s, my grandpa woulda said: “Drink it, boy. It’ll put hair on your chest.”
This is one of the more interesting mezcals I’ve tried – great work!
Nose – Light smoke and leather. Cantaloupe. Hint of pork jerky.
Palate – Sweet (Orange Julius) and grassy at first. Finish and aftertaste lose every notion of sweetness and wildly turn to a fascinating balance of campfire smoke, leather, hay, more grass and a lip full of chewing tobacco (and goes on for a solid minute). This feels like it has mucho masculine qualities – if I was old enough to have this in the 80’s, my grandpa woulda said: “Drink it, boy. It’ll put hair on your chest